□ 


□ 


I  1814  1914 

3 

3 

Centennial  ^nrneg 

A  Study  of 
Baptist  Missionary 
Achievement 

I  "  ..4 

John  Howard  Deming 


Ammran  Uajitist  Stemgn  mission  #ori?tg 

Ford  Building  Boston,  Massachusetts 


Foreword 

WE  stand  at  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  American  Baptist 
missions.  One  hundred  years  have  passed  since  that  memo¬ 
rable  day  in  July,  1813,  when  Adoniram  Judson  landed  upon  the  shores 
of  Burma.  Since  then  hundreds  of  lives  and  millions  of  dollars  have 
been  devoted  by  American  Baptists  to  the  work  in  foreign  lands,  and 
now,  at  the  end  of  this  period,  it  is  natural  that  we  inquire  what  have 
been  the  results  of  this  vast  expenditure,  and  what  has  been  our 
Baptist  contribution  to  the  advance  of  God’s  Kingdom  in  foreign 
lands. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  pamphlet  to  survey  the  achievement  of  the 
century.  We  shall  glance  first  at  some  of  the  outstanding  results  of 
the  work,  as  shown  in  non-Christian  lands  and  in  Europe.  We  shall 
then  trace  the  gradual  development  of  the  work  from  its  beginnings 
in  1814.  Finally,  we  shall  try  to  estimate  the  significance  of  this 
achievement  in  the  light  of  the  work  accomplished  by  other  denomina¬ 
tions. 

The  author  is  a  missionary  of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission 
Society  and  has  been  in  service  in  China.  During  furlough  he  has 
made  a  study  of  the  records  and  reports  of  the  Society  and  its  work, 
and  the  results  of  his  investigation  are  presented  herewith. 


Qmttmmtal  ii>uni?tr 

I.  The  Century  in  Outstanding  Results 

A.  Baptist  Contribution  in  Non-Christian  Lands 

[N  a  survey  of  the  work  as  a  whole,  it  is  possible  to  find  four  distinct  lines 
of  contribution.  First,  emphasis  on  evangelism  has  resulted  in  the  conver¬ 
sion  of  more  than  half  a  million  souls  and  in  a  present  church  membership  in 
non-Christian  lands  of  166,330.  Second,  our  missionaries  in  non-Christian 
lands  have  gathered  the  believers  into  1 ,575  organized  Baptist  churches.  Third, 
scripture  translation  has  given  to  the  people  on  all  the  fields  the  Bible  in  their 
own  tongue.  Fourth,  each  station  has  been  a  center  of  social  uplift. 

There  are,  however,  pedal  features  of  our  work  in  several  of  the  fields 
which  constitute  a  unique  contribution. 

In  Africa,  for  example,  our  mission  has  been  to  the  socially  degraded  and 
politically  oppressed  people  of  the  Congo.  In  that  land  of  spiritual  midnight, 
our  missionaries  have  seen  cannibals  transformed  into  Christians,  and  they 
have  helped  to  end  forever  the  cruelties  of  an  iniquitous  exploitation. 

In  South  India  our  Baptist  contribution  has  been  a  message  of  life  to  the 
socially  neglected,  to  those  rendered  hopeless  through  the  cruel  conditions  of 
an  hereditary  caste.  Again,  we  have  been  pioneers  in  realizing  the  possibili¬ 
ties  of  mass  movements  toward  Christianity. 

In  Bengal-Orissa  our  Baptist  contribution,  made  through  the  Free 
Baptist  branch  of  the  denomination,  has  been  a  ministry  to  the  orphan  child¬ 
hood  of  India,  and  more  especially  the  gift  of  a  written  language  and  a  life- 
giving  religion  to  the  outcaste  Santals,  a  race  of  primitive  sun-worshipers. 

In  Assam  the  most  striking  feature  of  our  work  has  been  the  transforma¬ 
tion  of  savage  head-hunters  into  peaceable,  law-abiding  Christians. 

In  the  two  islands  of  the  Philippines  allotted  to  us  by  mission  comity, 
we  have  given  to  the  people  a  gospel  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  freedom. 
Through  our  Jaro  Industrial  School  we  have  preached  the  “  dignity  of  labor  ” 
and  have  thus  helped  to  lay  a  foundation  of  economic  prosperity  on  which  to 
build  the  religious  and  political  future  of  the  islands. 

In  Japan,  our  special  contribution  has  been  to  the  geographically  isolated, 
hardy  fisher  folk  of  the  far  away  Liuchiu  islands,  and  to  that  unconquered 
race  who,  from  time  immemorial,  have  held  the  little  islands  of  the  Inland  Sea. 

In  China,  the  emphasis  has  been  upon  evangelism,  upon  church  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  upon  the  work  of  translation. 

We  speak  of  all  this  as  Baptist  achievement  —  what  we  really  mean  is 
the  achievement  that  God  has  wrought  through  American  Baptists. 


After  50  years 

375 

20,477 

$5,600 

$109,5x9 


3t 

B.  Table  of  Results  in  Non-Christian  Lands 

Churches  —  Increase  4  fold 
Church  Members  — •  Increase  8  fold 
Native  Contributions  —  Increase  28  fold 
Flome  Income  —  Increase  10  fold 


After  100  years 

1,575 

166,330 

$160,253 

$1,114,420.98 


* 


3 


C.  Baptist  Contribution  in  Burma 


OUR  contribution  in  Burma  deserves  special  consideration.  To  the  wild 
Karens  the  gift  of  a  written  language  and  a  redemptive  religion  has 
meant  literally  the  re-creation  of  the  race.  To  the  Burmans  and  the  other 
native  races,  Christian  churches  and  Christian  schools  have  been  given, 
displacing  the  old  monastery  schools  and  undermining  the  power  of  Buddhism. 
Rangoon  Baptist  College,  enrolling  over  1,500,  has  for  years  been  training 
leaders  in  every  branch  of  industrial,  political  and  religious  life.  The  number 
of  self-supporting  churches  is  to-day  greater  than  in  any  other  field.  In 
Massachusetts  there  are  348  Baptist  churches,  of  which  254  are  entirely  self- 
supporting.  This  is  only  73  per  cent,  as  against  76  per  cent,  for  Burma.  It 
was  said  by  W.  E.  Curtis,  that  our  work  in  Burma  constitutes  “  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  missionary  successes  on  record.” 


After  40  years 

D.  Table  of  Results  in  Burma 

After  100  years 

62 

Missionaries 

191 

145 

Native  Workers 

2,483 

11 7 

Organized  Churches 

1,009 

Self  Supporting  Churches 

768  (71 

8,736 

Church  Members 

65,912 

55 

Schools  of  all  Grades 

743 

1,178 

Pupils 

28,626 

Native  Contributions 

$130,483 

E.  Baptist  Contribution  in  Europe 


NO  work  has  yielded  larger  returns  than  that  in  Europe.  When  we  began 
work  in  Germany  and  France  there  were  no  Baptist  churches  in  those 
countries.  To-day  there  are  244  organized  churches  in  those  two  countries 
alone.  The  work  in  Sweden  was  begun  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society.  When  taken  over  by  the  Foreign  Mission  Society  in  1866  there  were 
6,411  members  of  Baptist  churches  in  Sweden;  to  day  there  are  54,268. 
The  number  139,270  given  as  the  present  membership  of  these  Baptist  churches 
in  Europe  represents  only  a  part  of  those  who  have  become  Baptists.  A 
large  number  of  those  who  joined  Baptist  churches  in  Europe  later  emigrated 
and  are  now  found  in  churches  of  their  own  nationality  in  America.  The 
fact  that  to-day  we  can  begin  to  withdraw  our  support  from  these  fields  is  the 
best  evidence  of  the  value  of  our  earlier  efforts.  The  success  of  our  work  in 
the  Scandinavian  countries  as  well  as  in  Germany  has  had  a  wonderful  reflex 
influence  upon  our  work  among  these  nationalities  in  America.  No  denomi¬ 
nation  has  a  greater  hold  upon  these  people  than  the  Baptists. 


F.  Table  of  Results  in  Europe 

In  1864 

81  Churches —  Increase  14  fold 

12,933  Members  —  Increase  10  fold 

$22,865  Contributions  —  Increase  34  fold 


In  1913 

1,182 

139,270 

$783,011 


4 


II.  The  Century  in  Gradual  Development 

A.  Field  Development 


E  turn  now  to  a  survey  of  the  growth  of  our  work  in  non-Christian 
lands,  based  upon  the  figures  of  every  tenth  annual  report. 

1.  MISSIONARIES  AND  STATIONS 


no 

780 

120 

no 

J00 

T  N  the  first  chart  we  can  follow  90 

J-  the  increase  of  mission  sta-  ^ 

tions  as  compared  with  mission¬ 
aries.  In  1814  there  was  but  70 

one  station;  to-day  there  are  127  eo 

main  stations,  with  2,975  out-  50 

stations.  In  1814  four  mission- 
aries  represented  the  Society ;  in  40 

1914  there  were  701  missionaries.  30 

20 

10 

i 

i 

i 

720 

660 

600 

540 

480 

420 

360 

300 

240 

180 

120 

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1814  1824  1834  1844  1854  1864  1874  1884  1894  1904  1914 


2.  CHURCHES  AND  SCHOOLS 


18/4  1824  1834  1844  1854  1864  1874  1884  1894  1904  19/4 


WHEN  we  remember  the 
strong  emphasis  which  our 
missionaries  have  always  put  upon 
evangelization,  it  is  a  surprise  to 
find  that  we  have  to-day  more 
schools  than  churches.  The  total 
number  of  organized  churches  in 
non-Christian  lands  is  1,575, 
while  the  schools  number  2,234. 


t 


5 


3.  CHURCH  MEMBERS  AND  PUPILS 


THIS  chart  furnishes  an  even 
greater  surprise.  Since  the 
schools  outnumber  the  churches, 
we  should  naturally  expect  the 
pupils  to  outnumber  or  at  least 
approximate  the  church  members. 
On  the  contrary,  the  pupils 
number  less  than  half  the  church 
members,  73,091  as  against  166,- 
330.  The  average  school  num¬ 
bers  only  32  pupils,  while  the 
average  church  numbers  105 
members. 


4.  MISSIONARIES  AND  NATIVE  WORKERS 


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4000 

3600 

3200 

2800 

2400 

2000 

1600 

1200 

800 

400 


1814  1824  1834  1844  1854  1864  1874  1884  1894  1904  1914 


|"N  one  hundred  years  our  mis- 
•*-  sionary  force  has  grown  from 
4  to  701,  but  this  seems  slight 
compared  with  the  growth  in 
native  workers.  In  1914  the  total 
native  workers  were  6,106. 


6 


5.  BAPTISMS 


IF  we  search  the  earlier  records 
and  the  later  statistics  we 
can  make  up  a  total  of  308^05 
baptisms  in  non-Christian  lands. 
And  that  is  by  no  means  the 
complete  number,  for  in  some 
years  the  baptisms  were  not  re¬ 
ported  and  in  many  others  the 
figures  were  only  partial. 

B.  Financial  Development 

THE  record  of  financial 
achievement  is  also  re¬ 
markable.  In  1815,  the  first  year 
of  organized  effort,  the  receipts 
for  foreign  missions  were  $1,059. 
In  1914,  the  one  hundredth  year 
of  organized  effort,  they  were 
more  than  one  thousand  times  as 
much,  reaching  the  splendid  total 
of  $1,1 14,420  including  receipts  from  the  woman’s  societies.  The  total  amount 
actually  contributed  during  these  one  hundred  years  has  been  $30,345,722. 


1.  HOW  HAS  THE  MONEY  COME? 


THE  receipts  of  the  Society 
have  come  from  two  main 
sources,  classified  as  the  “  receipts 
from  donations  ”  and  the  “  re¬ 
ceipts  outside  donations.”  The 
former  include  contributions  from 
churches,  Sunday  schools,  young 
people’s  societies  and  individuals. 
In  1914  these  amounted  to 
$950,329.71  including  receipts 
from  the  woman’s  societies.  The 
latter  include  legacies  and  interest 
from  investments  which  amounted 
to  $164,091.27.  The  chart  gives 
some  idea  of  the  proportion  be¬ 
tween  the  two  amounts  and  also 
shows  the  peculiar  fluctuation 
in  the  “  receipts  outside  dona¬ 
tions.” 


7 


2.  WHERE  HAS  THE  MONEY  GONE? 


TH  E  accompanying  chart 
shows  how  the  thirty  million 
dollars  received  have  been  ex¬ 
pended  during  the  past  one 
hundred  years.  The  increase  in 
expenditure  and  the  relative 
amounts  that  have  been  spent  at 
home  and  on  the  field  are  clearly 
indicated.  Two  points  on  the 
chart  need  a  word  of  explanation. 
The  high  point  on  the  lower  line 
in  1874  was  the  year  when  the 
mission  rooms  were  fitted  up  in 
Tremont  Temple  and  the  fire¬ 
proof  vault  was  built.  The  high 
point  on  the  upper  line  in  1894 
was  the  year  when  the  field  ex¬ 
penditure  exceeded  receipts  by 
over  $200,000,  involving  a  never- 
to-be-forgotten  debt. 

3.  HOME  EXPENDITURES  AND  TOTAL  RECEIPTS 

1 1275.000 


THIS  chart  indicates  the  rela¬ 
tion  between  home  expendi¬ 
tures  and  total  receipts.  The 
upper  line  shows  the  increase  of 
annual  receipts.  What  these  in¬ 
creasing  gifts  have  produced  has 
already  been  given  in  the  preced¬ 
ing  pages.  The  lower  line  shows 
the  increase  in  the  administrative 
cost.  The  relationship  between 
the  two  is  shown  in  that  every 
increase  in  the  administrative 
cost  has  resulted  in  an  enormous 
increase  in  total  receipts. 


18/4  1824  1834  1844  1854  J864  1874  1884  1894  1904  1914 


1,200,000 
/, 125,000 
1,050,000 
975,000 
900,000 
825,000 
750.000 
675,000 
600,000 
525,000 
450,000 
375.000 
300,000 
225,000 
150,000 
75,000 


$1/25.000 


8 


III.  The  Century  in  Comparative  Achievement 


A.  Comparison  of  Total  Work  in  All  Lands 

AMONG  the  340  foreign  missionary  societies  of  the  world,  the  position 
of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society,  based  on  the  total 
work  of  all  the  societies  in  all  lands,  is  as  follows: 


1st  in  Native  Church  Members. 
1st  in  Organized  Native  Churches. 
2d  in  Additions  Last  Year. 

3d  in  Number  of  Native  Workers. 
3d  in  Number  of  Schools. 


4th  in  Home  Income. 

6th  in  Number  of  Missionaries. 
7th  in  Number  of  Hospitals. 
8th  in  Number  of  Pupils. 

9th  in  Years  of  Service. 


B.  Comparison  of  Work  in  Non-Christian  Lands  Only 


WE  can  compare  our  results  in  non-Christian  lands  with  the  similar 
accomplishment  of  other  denominations,  by  selecting  the  ten  largest 
societies  in  the  world,  reckoned  on  the  basis  of  missionary  force.  These  are 
the  American  Board,  Northern  Baptist,  Protestant  Episcopal,  Northern 
Methodist,  Northern  Presbyterian,  China  Inland  Mission,  Church  Mission¬ 
ary  Society,  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  United  Free  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  the  Wesleyan. 

Note:  —  In  all  the  following  diagrams,  with  the  exception  of  those  in  section  5,  the  statis¬ 
tics  are  based  on  the  reports  of  the  various  societies  issued  in  1913. 


1.  MISSIONARIES  AND  HOME  INCOME 


NUMBER  OF  MISSIONARIES 


CHURCH 

MISSIONARY 

SOCIETY 

METHODIST 

n 

1318 

1244 

PRESBYTERIAN 

1155 

CHINA] 
INLAND  MISSION] 

1040 

S.P.G. 

822 

BAPTIST 

697 

AMERICAN  BOARD 
WESLEYAN 
UNITED  FREE 
EPISCOPAL 

571 

535 

513 

484 

THE  fundamental  hu¬ 
man  resources  of 
every  society  are  mis¬ 
sionaries  and  money. 
We  may  well  feel  encour¬ 
aged  at  our  financial 
achievement,  and  yet 
large  as  are  the  present 
contributions,  they  are 
far  less  than  the  gifts  of 
three  other  denomina¬ 
tions.  Our  missionary 
force  has  grown  to  enor¬ 
mous  size  and  yet  there 
are  to-day  three  other 
societies  whose  force  is 
about  half  as  large  again, 
and  one  whose  number 
of  missionaries  is  almost 
twice  as  large. 


HOME  INCOME 


$2,376,628 


METHODIST 


$  1.913.608 
$1,861,910 


[CHURCH  MISSIONARY 

{SOCIETY 

PRESBYTERIAN 


$1,195,523 

$1,048,938 

1,035,619 

$823,624 
$795,757 
$  73384-5 


BAPTIST  * 
AMERICAN  BOARD 
S.P.  6. 

EPISCOPAL 
WESLEYAN 
UNITED  FREE 


$302,143 


CHINA  INLAND 
MISSION 


♦This  figure  is  for  income  only,  that  is,  the  money  available  for  current  expenses.  It 
does  not  include  additions  to  the  permanent  and  annuity  funds. 


9 


2.  SCHOOLS  AND  PUPILS 


SCHOOLS 


CHURCH 


MISSIONARY  50CIETY 

31+7 

METHODIST 

2556 

BAPTIST 

2174 

WESLEYAN 
UNITED  FREE 
PRESBYTERIAN 

— 

1836 

1800 

1721 

AMERICAN  BOARD 

1464 

S.P.G. 

1275 

CHINA  IN  LAND  MISSION 
EPISCOPAL 

242 

233 

AS  compared  with 
other  societies  we 
stand  high  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  schools.  But 
when  we  compare  the 
number  of  pupils  un¬ 
der  instruction,  there 
is  a  somewhat  different 
story  to  tell.  Why? 
One  answer  is  probably 
found  in  the  relatively 
large  number  of  small 
jungle  schools.  An¬ 
other  reason  is  probably 
the  lack  of  adequate 
equipment  and  facili¬ 
ties.  Certain  it  is  that 
we  are  not  reaching  the 
numbers  we  should. 


PUPILS 


221169 


CHURCH 

MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 


I  16147 
I  10057 


WESLEYAN 
UNITED  FREE 


S2S64 
74-72  91 
7470  O) 
6  5593 
60902 


METHODIST 

r^f^E.r?lCAM  BOARD 
l.  o.  P.  G. 

BAPTIST 

PRESBYTERIAN 


10062 
55  78 


EPISCOPAL 

CHINA  INLAND  MISSION 


/ 


3.  HOSPITALS  AND  CHURCH  MEMBERS 


HOSPITALS 


s 


INCE  Dr.  Jonathan  Price  went 


PRE5BYTERIAN 

73 

CHURCH  1 
MISSIONARY} 
SOCIETY  J 

- 

54 

METHODIST 

37 

UNITED  FREE 

35 

AMERICAN  BOARD 

..... 

27 

BAPTIST 

24 

S.P.G. 

22 

EPISCOPAL 

12 

CHINA  INLAND! 

7 

MISSION  ] 

r 

140,671 


122,042 


WESLEYAN 


[METHODIST 


122,009]  -  [PRESBYTERIAN 


COMMUNICANT 

out  in  1821  to  be  associated  church  MEMBERS 
with  Judson  in  our  Burma  mission, .  159,920  p  baptist 
we  have  sent  out  missionary  doc¬ 
tors  and  emphasized  medical  work. 

According  to  the  report  for  1913, 
we  have  54  physicians  in  the  differ¬ 
ent  fields.  We  have  comparatively 
few  hospitals  simply  because  we 
have  never  invested  heavily  in 
buildings  for  the  medical  and  edu¬ 
cational  branches  of  the  work. 

This  has  been  due  chiefly  to  a  lack 
of  sufficient  funds  to  provide  ade¬ 
quately  for  the  imperative  needs  of 
existing  work  and  at  the  same  time 
supply  the  buildings  needed  for 
the  future.  If  we  take  hospitals 
as  typical  of  material  equipment, 


1 1 5 ,945 

88,875 

79,200 

56,191 

27,344 

13,731 


(CHURCH  MISSIONARY 
SOCIETY 


S.P.6. 

AMERICAN  BOARD, 

UNITED  FREE 


[CHINA  INLAND 
(MI5SI0N 

EPISCOPAL 


these  two  diagrams  present  in  rather  sharp  contrast  the  direction  in  which 
our  results  are  small  and  that  in  which  they  are  large.  In  material  results 
represented  by  equipment  and  buildings,  we  have  less  to  show  than  some  of 
the  other  denominations;  in  spiritual  results,  such  as  baptisms,  churches  and 
members  we  stand  among  the  first. 


10 


4.  ADDITIONS  AND  CHURCHES 


ADDITIONS 


METHODIST  fl  23331 


PRESBYTERIAN 


15505 


Church  missionary 
SOCIETY 


143*2 


BAPTIST 
UNITED  FREE 

SPG 


10040 

9230 

6797 


AMERICAN  BOARD 


3346 


CHINA  INLANDMI55ION 
EPISCOPAL 


25S6 

2431 


IN  the  number  of  organ¬ 
ized  churches  we  stand 
first,  as  far  as  the  figures 
are  available.  In  the 
number  of  additions  in 
1913,  three  of  the  socie¬ 
ties  exceeded  our  number, 
having  more  mission¬ 
aries  and  larger  income. 
The  significance  of  this 
fact  (for  us)  is  that  if  we 
would  maintain  our  pres¬ 
ent  leading  position,  we 
must  increase  our  re¬ 
sources  of  money  and 
men. 


ORGANIZED 

1493  n 


CHURCHES 

BAPTIST 


936 


5.P.G. 


6  73 
654 


PRESBYTERIAN 
CHINA  INLAND  MISSION 


57  3 


AMERICAN  BOARD 


216 


UNITED  FREE 


4 


5.  BAPTISMS  AND  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES 


BAPTISMS 

TOTAL 
58535 if 


BAPTIST 


Statistics  for  the  one-hundredth  year 


ORGANIZED  AND 
SELF-SUPPORTING 
CHURCHES 


IF  we  add  the  baptisms  in  those 
European  countries  in  which  we 
have  had  a  share  in  the  work  to  the 
308,605  recorded  in  non-Christian 
lands,  we  reach  a  total  of  585,351. 
Over  half  a  million  in  a  century! 
These  individuals  have  been  organ¬ 
ized  into  1,575  churches,  of  which 
908  or  57  per  cent,  are  to-day  self- 
supporting.  If  the  primary  aim  of 
mission  work  is  the  organization  and 
development  of  native  churches  to 
a  point  where  they  become  self- 
supporting,  self-directing,  and  self¬ 
extending,  then  the  number  of 
our  self-supporting  churches  is  a 
measure  of  our  Baptist  achievement. 


1575 


ORGANIZED 

CHURCHES 


908 

SELF-SUPPORT¬ 
ING  CHURCHE5 


BAPTIST 


II 


6.  THE  TASK  OF  A  NEW  CENTURY 


AS  we  look  out  upon  the  century  that  is  just  opening,  our  missionary  task 
appears  even  larger  and  more  complex  than  that  of  the  past.  The  task 
of  the  first  century  was  to  lay  foundations.  The  missionary  was  the  bearer 
of  an  individual  message  to  individuals.  The  very  success  of  these  earlier 
efforts  has  intensified  our  present  problem,  for  the  modern  missionary,  with 
the  same  burning  message  to  deliver,  must  in  addition  organize  the  thousands 
reached  into  an  army  for  the  Christian  conquest  of  their  own  lands.  Thus 
the  missionary  of  the  new  century  must  be  not  only  a  private  soldier  engaged 
in  personal  battle,  but  a  general  directing  the  forces  of  the  campaign. 

The  task  of  the  first  century  was  the  fundamental  work  of  planting  the 
Christian  church  in  non-Christian  lands.  The  task  of  a  new  century  is  the 
expansion,  and  more  especially  the  training,  of  this  native  church.  This 
means  not  only  continued  emphasis  on  evangelism,  but  a  new  emphasis  on 
Christian  education,  for  the  native  church  will  never  become  self-extend¬ 
ing  and  self-directing  without  an  educated  and  efficient  laity  as  well  as  an 
educated  and  efficient  ministry. 

The  task  of  the  first  century  was  the  translation  of  the  Christian  message 
into  the  language  of  the  people,  a  task  which  has  now  been  practically  ac¬ 
complished.  The  task  of  the  new  century  will  be  the  translation  of  this 
same  Christian  message  into  the  life  of  the  people,  into  their  industrial,  social, 
and  political  as  well  as  religious  life.  While  the  task  of  Christian  missions  means 
the  salvation  of  individual  souls,  and  the  planting  of  Christian  churches, 
it  includes  also  the  permeating  of  pagan  civilizations  with  the  spirit  and 
influence  of  Christianity  through  the  Christian  education  of  native  leaders. 
We  shall  need  to  utilize  more  fully  than  in  the  past  the  great  social  forces  of 
Christianity,  recognizing  the  fact  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  convert  men  nor 
to  educate  them.  The  whole  social  life  must  be  reconstructed  on  a  Christian 
basis.  In  this  task  the  second  century  will  build  upon  the  foundations  of 
the  first. 

Finally  the  task  of  the  second  century  will  be  that  of  cooperation  with 
the  missionary  endeavors  of  other  denominations.  Winning  the  world  to 
Jesus  Christ  is  one  work.  Each  denomination  in  its  own  way,  and  also 
through  cooperative  effort  with  the  others,  will  contribute  to  the  fulfillment 
of  the  divine  plan  —  the  establishment  of  God’s  Kingdom  throughout  the  world. 

This  pamphlet  is  not  issued  in  any  feeling  of  denominational  pride  over 
what  Baptists  have  accomplished.  It  is  issued  rather  as  an  expression  of 
appreciation  and  gratitude  to  God  for  the  part  he  has  been  pleased  to  give 
to  Baptists  in  the  missionary  achievements  of  the  century. 


For  additional  literature  or  any  other  information  regarding  the 
work  of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society,  write  to 
any  of  the  following:  — 

The  nearest  District  Secretary. 

Department  of  Missionary  Education,  23  E.  26th  St.,  New  York  City. 
Literature  Department,  Post  Office  Box  41,  Boston,  Mass. 


1053-S-15-14-10M 


12 


